The International Criminal Prosecution Problems According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Case Study of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Kingdom of Cambodia

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Abstract

The objectives of this thesis are to study Cambodia's international cooperation that led to the establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) within Cambodia, and to examine Thailand’s problems and obstacles in bringing crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court since Thailand has signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Statute aims to prosecute perpetrators of crimes, including 1) crimes of genocide, 2) crimes against humanity, 3) war crimes, and 4) crimes of aggression, under international criminal law. During Thaksin Shinawatra's administration, Thailand implemented a policy to crack down on drug abuse, which resulted in criminal offences related to crimes against humanity. However, these cases could not be brought before the International Criminal Court because Thailand has yet to ratify the Rome Statute.

Cambodia, after the Khmer Rouge came to power, aimed to build a "new society" under the ideological foundation known as “Ideology of Total Revolution”, driving the policy by sweeping the entire population from Phnom Penh and other important cities to carry out agriculture work.  Additionally, there was a policy to purge those who held divergent ideological beliefs, resulting in an estimated 1.7 million deaths, which is considered a crime of genocide, but the perpetrators were not held accountable. The study found that the reason for the inability to prosecute the perpetrators was due to the fact that the crimes occurred before the establishment of the International Criminal Court. After the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, the Cambodian government attempted to restore justice to the people and ethnic groups, leading to the creation of a joint agreement with the United Nations to establish the ECCC in order to prosecute the leaders of the Khmer Rouge who committed crimes against humanity. The success of this prosecution was supported and aided by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.

As for Thailand, the failure to ratify the Rome Statute makes it impossible to bring cases before the International Criminal Court. If there is a desire to prosecute cases arising from the period of the drug crackdown, Thailand could do so through ad hoc acceptance of jurisdiction according to paragraph 3 of Article 12. This would empower the International Criminal Court to exercise jurisdiction over offenses committed in the country's territory. However, it is up to the International Criminal Court to determine whether or not to accept cases for prosecution. Such consideration must be made in conjunction with other relevant matters. However, if in the future Thailand ratifies the Rome Statute, it is necessary to establish the four main categories of serious international crimes according to the provisions in the Rome Statute in Thai law. This process may require the amendment of the Criminal Code, B.E. xxxx (YYYY) by adding these four main categories of serious crimes to be consistent with the Rome Statute. If Thailand does not ratify the Rome Statute, the prosecution within the country for crimes involving these four categories will be possible, without the need to send the case to the International Criminal Court.